In addition to her community service, Shirley has been a generous donor and dedicated volunteer for Wells College for years. Beginning in the 1980s and continuing today, she has held almost every volunteer fundraising position available, from Tower Society national chair to national Annual Fund chair to membership on major campaign committees.  She has also been an important supporter of the Wells College internship program, partnering with late husband J. Carter Bacot to provide Wells students with experiential learning opportunities at The Bank of New York.

Equally important were her accomplishments as a Wells College trustee from 1989 to 1998, culminating in five years as chair of the board and her election in 1998 as an honorary trustee, a role she fills today with the same enthusiasm and vigor she brought to the chair position. 

A trustee during Shirley’s tenure describes her as an outstanding leader who, “with style and grace, asked difficult and challenging questions of her trustee peers and of administrators.” Another fellow trustee said, “Shirley’s strengths were an elegant mix of being collaborative and authoritative.  She ensured that every trustee was solicited and heard, and appropriately pushed the group when malaise or indecisiveness set in. She engendered trust and people stuck with her. Her style was masterful without being manipulative. She was one of the best chairs the Wells board has had and one of the smartest.” 

Wells was involved in the largest capital campaign in its history when Shirley was board chair. Shirley pushed to establish a $50 million goal and, in the end, $58 million was raised. Her financial support and project leadership has also been instrumental in the creation of Wells’ new 45,000-square-foot science facility, scheduled to open this fall.

Shirley has made significant contributions to Wells as a tireless fundraiser and through her own transformational philanthropy. The College has benefited enormously over the decades from her energy, direction and conviction, as has her home community.

By Carol Voorhees ’67 
Wells College Alumnae Award Committee member

The Alumnae Association announces Karen Eckberg Gottovi '62 as a recipient of the 2007 Alumnae Award.

Karen Eckberg Gottovi, Wells College Class of 1962, will be honored as a recipient of the 2007 Wells College Alumnae Award for a distinguished career in public service, her commitment to the environment and outstanding leadership.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate who majored in English, Karen was a member of the Choir and Henry’s VIII, the Judicial Board, Spanish Club and the Phoenix literary society while at Wells. Her friends remember her as an excellent student and a good friend. 

Karen’s career in public service began in North Carolina when she helped start the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. She was immediately invited to serve on a number of local boards and commissions, and then ran for the New Hanover (N.C.) county commissioner in 1976. She held elected office on the commission until 1984 and served as its chair for two of those years. Many important projects were implemented during her tenure, including a county-wide sewer system, a new library and branches, several schools, and a state-of-the-art garbage incineration and electricity production facility. 

In 1980, North Carolina’s governor appointed her to the Coastal Resources Commission, a position she held for eight years. In 1991, she was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly, representing the 13th district until 1995. Her work in limiting tobacco access for teenagers, eliminating hog farms’ pollution of streams and rivers, and tackling the issue of health care for all earned her the respect of her fellow legislators, lobbyists and advocates.

While in public office, Karen worked tirelessly for environmental issues, in particular the protection of North Carolina’s fragile coastline. Her involvement in efforts opposing the Crown Oil Company’s plans to build a refinery on the Cape Fear River slowed the state approval process enough that the company changed its plans. As a state legislator, she helped secure funding to preserve Fort Fisher at the mouth of the river and to establish an aquarium in the area. Her promotion of environmentally sound development practices along the river helped make Wilmington a thriving commercial port again as well as an important historic site, adding greatly to the state’s economic growth. The North Carolina Wildlife Federation awarded her the coveted Legislator of the Year distinction in 1993. A friend of Karen’s said, “I look to her as a role model of what women in politics should be.”

In 1997 Karen was appointed director of the Division of Aging and Adult Services for
the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. During her tenure, Karen oversaw the development of the state’s first and second four-year State Aging Services plans. 

Throughout her career, Karen’s considerable leadership and interpersonal skills were called into play. Much of her work in the Division of Aging and Adult Services required the sensitive and patient facilitation of interagency cooperation. Karen was able to help all staff involved appreciate the importance of communication, the acceptance of differences and the values of shared vision and client-based outcomes. One of her colleagues stated: “Karen was instrumental in changing the overall focus of the division from being process- and structure-oriented to being outcome-based, constantly questioning ‘What difference are we making for the individuals and families?’” Another colleague stated, “Karen’s greatest strength is her ability to encourage, teach, counsel and guide — all important attributes in an effective mentor.”

In February 2006, after 30 years of effective, groundbreaking service, Karen retired from the Division of Aging and Adult Services. A Wells classmate and fellow politician from Virginia summed it up best when she wrote, “Karen has never just talked the game, as many politicians do. She has lived her beliefs — and for that reason, she is a real example to the women of Wells of what the possibilities are for a life well lived.” 

By Sarah Messenger Gleason ’88 
Wells College Alumnae Award Committee member

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